« A boat that runs fast and has incredible habitability »
During the stopover in Martinique (French West Indies), Gilles meets Philippe who is building an 26 ft 25 in Scow, based on plans by David Réard. It is constructed of epoxy plywood.
A few months later, the ship made its first sails in the channels of the Antilles. It’s a success, the Rocket 800 works very well in addition to incredible comfort and habitability.
Here is the new Ecotransat challenge :
build the sister ship using recyclable materials.
It will be Brassemer.
For those who have never seen one, the Scow looks a bit like a sailing rusk. These hulls were very popular in the early 20th century on the Canadian Great Lakes. These canvas sleds were already reaching 20 knots on schedule. Scows are sailboats with very wide, almost round bows.
It’s a bit strange at first, it even seems irrational to send this type of sailboat to cross oceans. And yet almost all racing boats are now built with these very wide bows. These are powerful boats, with little heeling, and which move very strongly downwind.
The town hall of Balaruc-les-Bains (France) allocates us free land from the Manuréva sailing school, on the edge of the Thau pond.
Construction to begin
in June 2024.
Please note : the Rocket 800 (Philippe’s Scow) will be visible in Martigues (France) from June 2024.